Rolling bearings are principally distinguished according to direction of load a bearing is predominantly designed to carry and fall into two basic groups:

• Radial bearings
• Thrust bearings

By the shape of rolling elements each of these groups is further categorized into ball bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, needle roller bearings, spherical roller bearings and tapered roller bearings.
Most of radial bearings are able to accommodate forces in axial direction too, just as some types of thrust bearings can also cope with radial load. From the angle of action of forces there does not exist an accurate boundary between both mentioned basic groups of bearings.
In order to select an optimum rolling bed both from technical and economic viewpoint, the designer should be well acquainted with characteristic properties of bearings as a result of their different inner configurations. Not until then can the most suitable bearing be selected for a particular application and its respective operating conditions.